What do you think?
Rate this book
Dead Hand
When an unforeseen asteroid strikes Siberia with the force of a thousand Hiroshimas, it triggers Dead Hand, the ultimate defense mechanism developed by the Soviets at the height of the Cold War.
The missiles are pointing at the United States and its European allies, and ultra-nationalist General Likatchev is willing to use them as blackmail to topple the government in Moscow and return Russia to her status as world power.
When Russia responds to world queries with cold silence, a NATO special operations unit is dropped into Siberia. Trapped in a region ravaged by freezing snow and the hellish aftermath of the asteroid impact, the NATO forces are racing against time to track down Likatchev and dismantle Dead Hand before a global holocaust is unleashed.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
The missiles are pointing at the United States and its European allies, and ultra-nationalist General Likatchev is willing to use them as blackmail to topple the government in Moscow and return Russia to her status as world power.
When Russia responds to world queries with cold silence, a NATO special operations unit is dropped into Siberia. Trapped in a region ravaged by freezing snow and the hellish aftermath of the asteroid impact, the NATO forces are racing against time to track down Likatchev and dismantle Dead Hand before a global holocaust is unleashed.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
384 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published May 28, 2001
24 people are currently reading
249 people want to read
About the author
Harold Coyle
45 books253 followersHarold Coyle is an American author of historical, speculative fiction and war novels including Team Yankee, a New York Times best-seller.He graduated from the Virginia Military Institute in 1974 and spent seventeen years on active duty with the U.S. Army.He lives in Leavenworth, Kansas.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
May 13, 2025
Some elements of this story could have been taken from recent newspaper headlines.
July 5, 2012
I was very eager to read this book, because the plot synopsis seemed so intriguing. Political unrest in Russia, a rogue military leader possessing a nuclear arsenal, and gruesome operations in a post-apocalyptic countryside (courtesy of an asteroid); it all appeared to have the elements of a great story. But right from the start, the plot was spoiled by a choppy delivery. The pattern seemed to be a series of "snapshots", or - more specifically - a bunch of unfinished short stories. Rather than setting up a story, or later folding into the main story, the reader felt that they were lurching from one soldier or unit to another, with no real cohesiveness or purpose. It felt to me that nothing was truly fleshed out or fully explained.
The result of this choppy delivery was that the main plot was moving along, and the reader was being dropped in at various points along the way to see what was going on, then yanked back out to be dropped into the story a little further along the way. I felt like I was missing pieces of the story, especially since there seemed to me to be several allusions to recent events that weren't included in the narration. The final, climatic battle scene - like the rest of the book - seemed to be rushed and not developed, and then ended abruptly, leaving us to come to our own conclusion about what happened. The book ended just a little over 300 pages, and seemed to be written as if Mr. Coyle had set a page limit and was trying to fit the plot inside of that.
Indifferent plot, paper-thin characters. There appeared to be no particular main character, the combat scenes were nowhere nearly as descriptive as they have been in his other novels, and he ended the book leaving numerous loose ends.
It is loaded with errors. Some of this is simply poor editing, for example, a tank hull is called a "haul" several times, Mount St. Helens is called "Helena," the NSC (National Security Council) is called "NSA" (acronym for National Security Agency).
Many errors are more egregious.
The Army Chief of Staff launches a strike. The Chief does not command any forces or have legal authority to order any strikes. A combatant commander, which the Chief is not, has to do that.
The special ops team members are described in terms that would embarrass even green regular force units. They seem immature, mercurial, and uncooperative.
A weapons expert "jerks" a trigger. Only a steady pull will get the shot on target.
A Special Forces colonel makes a phone call home to his wife when he is in isolation before a mission. Strictly forbidden.
British SAS unit is described with troopers that are corporals and privates. In the real SAS they have sergeants and higher.
SAS has a lot of military courtesy and use of "Sir" when an NCO speaks to an officer team-leader. Not done in the real SAS.
SAS goes on a mission with a team made up of expendables found in the regiment rather than with an established team. Very highly unlikely.
A shaped charge is described as being so powerful it will go through a missile silo blast door designed to protect a silo against all but a direct strike by a nuclear weapon. The charge will not only pierce the doors but the missile warhead section and then down to the missile fuel below. And one man can carry this charge. Absolutely incredible.
The shaped charge principle of operation is described in detail twice, incorrectly, and poorly both times.
A French Foreign Legion demo sergeant fabricates shaped charges himself when many rugged and expertly designed and fabricated ones are available.
The shaped charge is air dropped and then carried cross-country with the blasting cap installed. This violates basic instruction on explosives. The blasting cap is always carried away from the charge, preferably by someone other than the charge carrier, is well padded and protected, and only installed at the firing point.
A special ops team leader is switched mid-air enroute to the drop zone.
At the last minute, a scratch special ops team is put together from the remains of several national teams. It departs on the big mission without planning, organizing, or rehearsing because "it would take too much time." The team leader doesn't even know who is carrying the demolitions crucial to the mission.
A special ops team moves cross-country headed for the target. All are staring down following the steps of the man in front. This violates basic patrol discipline and would not be expected in elite units.
A 40 millimeters grenade is described as being "baseball sized." In fact, 40 mm is almost exactly golf ball sized.
The selection training of the SAS Regiment is done in the Welsh Brecon Beacons and not in the Highlands of Scotland.
Sergeant Major is not a rank in the British Army but a posting, the rank of a British sergeant major is usually Warrant Officer 1 or 2.
The base of the SAS Regiment is like depicted in the book in Hereford but Hereford is not in Scotland but in Western England on the border to Wales (The County of Hereford and Worcester). Any book about the Regiment would have shown that to Mr. Coyle.
The mansion in which the British broke Enigma was not called Blenchly Park like Coyle wrote but Bletchley Park and anybody knowing a bit about WWII knows that.
The British agency dealing with communications security and surveillance is not MI5 but GCHQ Cheltenham (Government Communications Headquarters). A bit of reading about British services would have revealed that.
PSM pistols and AK-74 rifles DO NOT use the same ammunition
The result of this choppy delivery was that the main plot was moving along, and the reader was being dropped in at various points along the way to see what was going on, then yanked back out to be dropped into the story a little further along the way. I felt like I was missing pieces of the story, especially since there seemed to me to be several allusions to recent events that weren't included in the narration. The final, climatic battle scene - like the rest of the book - seemed to be rushed and not developed, and then ended abruptly, leaving us to come to our own conclusion about what happened. The book ended just a little over 300 pages, and seemed to be written as if Mr. Coyle had set a page limit and was trying to fit the plot inside of that.
Indifferent plot, paper-thin characters. There appeared to be no particular main character, the combat scenes were nowhere nearly as descriptive as they have been in his other novels, and he ended the book leaving numerous loose ends.
It is loaded with errors. Some of this is simply poor editing, for example, a tank hull is called a "haul" several times, Mount St. Helens is called "Helena," the NSC (National Security Council) is called "NSA" (acronym for National Security Agency).
Many errors are more egregious.
The Army Chief of Staff launches a strike. The Chief does not command any forces or have legal authority to order any strikes. A combatant commander, which the Chief is not, has to do that.
The special ops team members are described in terms that would embarrass even green regular force units. They seem immature, mercurial, and uncooperative.
A weapons expert "jerks" a trigger. Only a steady pull will get the shot on target.
A Special Forces colonel makes a phone call home to his wife when he is in isolation before a mission. Strictly forbidden.
British SAS unit is described with troopers that are corporals and privates. In the real SAS they have sergeants and higher.
SAS has a lot of military courtesy and use of "Sir" when an NCO speaks to an officer team-leader. Not done in the real SAS.
SAS goes on a mission with a team made up of expendables found in the regiment rather than with an established team. Very highly unlikely.
A shaped charge is described as being so powerful it will go through a missile silo blast door designed to protect a silo against all but a direct strike by a nuclear weapon. The charge will not only pierce the doors but the missile warhead section and then down to the missile fuel below. And one man can carry this charge. Absolutely incredible.
The shaped charge principle of operation is described in detail twice, incorrectly, and poorly both times.
A French Foreign Legion demo sergeant fabricates shaped charges himself when many rugged and expertly designed and fabricated ones are available.
The shaped charge is air dropped and then carried cross-country with the blasting cap installed. This violates basic instruction on explosives. The blasting cap is always carried away from the charge, preferably by someone other than the charge carrier, is well padded and protected, and only installed at the firing point.
A special ops team leader is switched mid-air enroute to the drop zone.
At the last minute, a scratch special ops team is put together from the remains of several national teams. It departs on the big mission without planning, organizing, or rehearsing because "it would take too much time." The team leader doesn't even know who is carrying the demolitions crucial to the mission.
A special ops team moves cross-country headed for the target. All are staring down following the steps of the man in front. This violates basic patrol discipline and would not be expected in elite units.
A 40 millimeters grenade is described as being "baseball sized." In fact, 40 mm is almost exactly golf ball sized.
The selection training of the SAS Regiment is done in the Welsh Brecon Beacons and not in the Highlands of Scotland.
Sergeant Major is not a rank in the British Army but a posting, the rank of a British sergeant major is usually Warrant Officer 1 or 2.
The base of the SAS Regiment is like depicted in the book in Hereford but Hereford is not in Scotland but in Western England on the border to Wales (The County of Hereford and Worcester). Any book about the Regiment would have shown that to Mr. Coyle.
The mansion in which the British broke Enigma was not called Blenchly Park like Coyle wrote but Bletchley Park and anybody knowing a bit about WWII knows that.
The British agency dealing with communications security and surveillance is not MI5 but GCHQ Cheltenham (Government Communications Headquarters). A bit of reading about British services would have revealed that.
PSM pistols and AK-74 rifles DO NOT use the same ammunition
June 4, 2017
The book is worth reading if you wanted to know why cold war lasted decades and how leaders played significant roles in influencing the competitions. The aftermath effect was long-lasting and unfortunate.
Referring to lots of memoirs, diaries and interviews from both sides, the author tried to offer an objective view of Cold War, although he, inevitably, also applied judgement basing on "Western Values" throughout the book.
Referring to lots of memoirs, diaries and interviews from both sides, the author tried to offer an objective view of Cold War, although he, inevitably, also applied judgement basing on "Western Values" throughout the book.
March 4, 2021
3.
Larry's book
Larry's book
July 2, 2022
An irrelevant plot. This story is about soldiers - duty,service and honor, and the probability of death as much as life.
September 17, 2023
Read a long time ago, outstanding as usual
January 4, 2015
An asteroid is on its way to Earth. The Russians have missiles that can launch a nuclear strike against preset targets without human interaction. All this takes is is any impact resembling a nuclear strike. An unhappy section of the Russian military has control of some of these "dead hand" missiles and refuse to deactivate them. Special forces and commando teams from the West prepare to destroy the "dead hand" missiles. This is a good military thriller.
February 24, 2012
I stopped reading after about 100 pages. Supposed to be a military thriller but I was bored. I found myself skimming a lot so I figured it was time to move on to another book.
July 21, 2012
One of the best books I've read and one everyone should read. Thrilling.
October 18, 2012
I'm not all that into militry novels and this is why. If you like those kind of novels read it but I found it very boring.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews